Breathing Problems: Basis for Chronic Diseases (Over 50 Studies)

Over 90% of modern people suffer from breathing problems, such as chest breathing, mouth breathing, and hyperventilation (breathing more than the medical norm). All these abnormalities reduce oxygen levels in body cells and promote chronic diseases. Consider how sick people breathe.

Minute ventilation rates (chronic diseases)

Condition	Minute ventilation	Number of people	All references or click below for abstracts
Normal breathing	6 L/min	-	Medical textbooks
Healthy Subjects	6-7 L/min	>400	Results of 14 studies
Heart disease	15 (±4) L/min	22	Dimopoulou et al, 2001
Heart disease	16 (±2) L/min	11	Johnson et al, 2000
Heart disease	12 (±3) L/min	132	Fanfulla et al, 1998
Heart disease	15 (±4) L/min	55	Clark et al, 1997
Heart disease	13 (±4) L/min	15	Banning et al, 1995
Heart disease	15 (±4) L/min	88	Clark et al, 1995
Heart disease	14 (±2) L/min	30	Buller et al, 1990
Heart disease	16 (±6) L/min	20	Elborn et al, 1990
Pulm hypertension	12 (±2) L/min	11	D'Alonzo et al, 1987
Cancer	12 (±2) L/min	40	Travers et al, 2008
Diabetes	12-17 L/min	26	Bottini et al, 2003
Diabetes	15 (±2) L/min	45	Tantucci et al, 2001
Diabetes	12 (±2) L/min	8	Mancini et al, 1999
Diabetes	10-20 L/min	28	Tantucci et al, 1997
Diabetes	13 (±2) L/min	20	Tantucci et al, 1996
Asthma	13 (±2) L/min	16	Chalupa et al, 2004
Asthma	15 L/min	8	Johnson et al, 1995
Asthma	14 (±6) L/min	39	Bowler et al, 1998
Asthma	13 (±4) L/min	17	Kassabian et al, 1982
Asthma	12 L/min	101	McFadden & Lyons, 1968
COPD	14 (±2) L/min	12	Palange et al, 2001
COPD	12 (±2) L/min	10	Sinderby et al, 2001
COPD	14 L/min	3	Stulbarg et al, 2001
Sleep apnea	15 (±3) L/min	20	Radwan et al, 2001
Liver cirrhosis	11-18 L/min	24	Epstein et al, 1998
Hyperthyroidism	15 (±1) L/min	42	Kahaly, 1998
Cystic fibrosis	15 L/min	15	Fauroux et al, 2006
Cystic fibrosis	10 L/min	11	Browning et al, 1990
Cystic fibrosis*	10 L/min	10	Ward et al, 1999
CF and diabetes*	10 L/min	7	Ward et al, 1999
Cystic fibrosis	16 L/min	7	Dodd et al, 2006
Cystic fibrosis	18 L/min	9	McKone et al, 2005
Cystic fibrosis*	13 (±2) L/min	10	Bell et al, 1996
Cystic fibrosis	11-14 L/min	6	Tepper et al, 1983
Epilepsy	13 L/min	12	Esquivel et al, 1991
CHV	13 (±2) L/min	134	Han et al, 1997
Panic disorder	12 (±5) L/min	12	Pain et al, 1991
Bipolar disorder	11 (±2) L/min	16	MacKinnon et al, 2007
Dystrophia myotonica	16 (±4) L/min	12	Clague et al, 1994

What are the causes of these breathing problems, low body oxygen stores and poor health in modern people?

Why breathing should be strictly nasal? Is your mouth dry in the morning?	Most modern people (over 80%) have automatic chest breathing at rest. What are the effects?
Why normal breathing is slow? Normal breathing rate or frequency is only 12 breaths per minute. Older textbooks provide even smaller rates ...	Is shallow breathing a problem? Sick people breathe using upper chest and inhale more air. This causes two devastating effects: reduced oxygen level in body cells and ...
Parameters, graph, and description of normal breathing. What are the norms for minute ventilation, tidal volume, aCO2 levels?	6 common myths about breathing (above 90% prevalence). Less than 10% of people know correct answers to these questions...

The key assumption of the Buteyko breathing method: Sick people hyperventilate.

This can be checked. For this purpose, we can use a simplest definition of hyperventilation based on increased minute ventilation at rest (for analysis of different definitions of hyperventilation visit Hyperventilation). Let us start with heart disease.

* Note. If you want to get more accurate results (how many patients were studied, where, which medical journal published the article, etc.) and even read the abstract just click on the graph.

Heart muscle and blood vessels If heart disease patients breathe much more air than the medical norm, it is logical that their heart muscle gets less blood and oxygen supply (see the Section about CO2 effects). If these heart patients find breathing techniques and use the Buteyko method to slow down their breathing rate back to the medical norm, then their heart perfusion, oxygenation, state of blood vessels, and many other key parameters will be normal. This will result in no symptoms of the heart disease and no need for medication.

Let us look at breathing rates or MV (minute ventilation) in patients with asthma. (Click on the graph to get more details.)

We can get the same general picture for diabetes.

Puzzle Medical research studies and clinical trials found the same result (chronic overbreathing or 100% prevalence of hyperventilation) for patients with COPD, cancer, sleep apnoea, liver cirrhosis, hyperthyroidism, cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, dystrophia myotonica, and many other conditions. If you want to investigate these results, consider Table 1. Western scientific evidence: breathing rates or minute ventilation in patients with various chronic conditions (34 medical studies). This data clearly shows that sick people have breathing problems or breathe too much (about 2-3 times above the norm). It is logical that sick people require breathing techniques and methods, including the Buteyko breathing technique, to deal with their breathing problems and breathing difficulties.

Do healthy subjects have normal breathing (about 6 liters of air per minute at rest)? Normal Minute Ventilation (14 Studies) in Healthy Subjects.

Humanity experienced a sudden upsurge of chronic diseases (or "diseases of civilization") during last century. Hyperventilation: Present in Over 90% of Normal People.

Breathing, body oxygen level (Buteyko CP test), and their measurements

Why do we develop tissue hypoxia (reduced oxygenation) when we breathe more? There are two powerful physiological effects that explain why breathing is the central factor that control oxygen transport. Oxygen transport during hyperventilation ...	It is very difficult, even when using best medical devices, to measure brain and body oxygen content due to two known physiological effects. However, there is a simple body oxygen test that reflects body and brain oxygenation at any moment of time.
Western studies about normal breath holding time or Normal Body Oxygen Levels in Healthy People.	We can see that sick people breathe more air, but what are their body oxygenations? Here is the answer: Body Oxygen in Sick People

Buteyko Table of Health Zones and Sleep Heavy Breathing Effect

Dr K. P. Buteyko, the author of the Buteyko breathing method, recorded breath parameters of thousands of healthy and sick people and suggested the Buteyko Table of Health Zones ...

However, breathing parameters and symptoms are usually worst during early morning hours. The effect if even stronger in the sick (heart disease, stoke, diabetes, asthma, COPD, epilepsy...) causing devastating effects and breathing. Read more about the Sleep Heavy Breathing Effect ...

"Hence, normal breathing corresponds to a healthy organism." Dr. K. P. Buteyko, Dr. Buteyko lecture in the Moscow State University on 9 December 1969

We cannot control, in direct sense, development of chronic diseases and problems with breathing, but we can control our breathing, directly and indirectly, 24/7 using various breathing techniques and lifestyle discoveries implemented in the Buteyko breathing method.

Now it is possible to analyze or even provide answers to three questions:
● Are there many chronic diseases or only one (with various symptoms depending in environmental factors, life style parameters, and individual predisposition)?
● What is the name of this disease?
● How should it be treated? Or what is the cure or most sensible therapy-treatment or parameter to monitor?

Learn more about Hyperventilation Treatment - web page summary.

This website is devoted to analysis of causes, effects, and other factors related to breathing problems, breathing patterns and body oxygen effects, development of chronic diseases and symptoms, and their prevention and treatment using breathing techniques and Buteyko breathing method. We will also consider factors related to breathing and exercise, diet, posture, sleep.

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Oxygen Remedy is a new breathing retraining method which combines the best features of the Buteyko breathing technique and Frolov breathing device therapy. These online breathing lessons are led by Richard Geller and taught by Dr. Artour Rakhimov. This is probably the most advanced therapy to deal with breathing problems and low O2 levels in cells. Read more ....